Pop up thunderstorms have been the main thing this week and there is expected gulf activity next week so well see what happens.
Cotton: You may see some aborted squares laying around on the ground. It could be plant bugs but most of what I’ve seen has been due to the funky weather. Cooler, cloudy weather can make the cotton plant shuck some squares. Keep in mind that we need to carry at least 80% of those squares into bloom to maximize our yield. Aphids are getting a little stronger but the sporadic rain showers have kept them beat down some. Spraying aphids can be a difficult decision that could factor in many variables. Just remember you can keep the populations low but you can’t completely wipe aphids out of a field, Dr. Roberts has tried many times and he can’t do it. Stay on Pix programs, now isn’t the time you want to let your cotton get away from you. I know it’s hard with the rain.
Peanuts: Some peanuts I’ve seen recently have been 12-14 days behind. Likely due to thrips injury and early herbicide damage. Cooler weather at emergence, thrips injury, and then herbicide injury has put them behind. Will this affect yield? It’s tough to say. The peanut plant has the ability to compensate and make up for lost time, most likely the digging days will be extended. Of the fields I’ve looked at only 1 wasn’t nodulating really well. The rapid increase of nodules is telling me they are getting ready to take off.